Ferdinand, Count of Flanders

Ferdinand, Count of Flanders (24 March 1188-27 July 1233) was the jure uxoris Count of Flanders from 1212 to 1233 as the husband of Joan, Countess of Flanders. Ferdinand was one of the leaders of the anti-French alliance at the Battle of Bouvines in July 1214, during which he was captured and defeated.

Biography
Ferdinand was born in Coimbra, Portugal on 24 March 1188, the fourth son of Sancho I of Portugal and Dulce of Aragon. In 1212, he married Joan, Countess of Flanders, making him the jure uxoris Count of Flanders. While on their way to Flanders, Ferdinand and Joan were captured by Prince Louis of France, who sought to acquire his dead mother's dowry, a large piece of Flemish territory including Artois, which Joan's father had taken back by force after Isabella of Hainault's death. Released after this concession, Ferdinand and Joan allied with King John of England and Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV against King Philip II of France, but Ferdinand was defeated and captured at the Battle of Bouvines. He was to remain in French hands for the next 12 years, but he was released in 1226 by the French regent, Blanche of Castile, after Louis IX of France succeeded to the throne. Ferdinand died in Noyon in 1233 at the age of 45.